(Mostly) home made fancy dress ideas

Whilst I was flicking through my photo albums I stumbled across this photo and thought to myself, 'oh wow I love fancy dress' - this got me thinking, why don't I do a list of fancy dress ideas? So here goes (please forgive the amount of selfies):

Above you can see a reprisal of my 'Dia de la Muertos' face paint for Halloween last year, as well as two additions; a dead Miss Scarlet (still don't know who did it) and a rag doll.If you look closely, you will observe a suspicious grey patch on my crotch. This is in fact spray painted bones. I cut a template for some bones out of a piece of paper and sellotaped them to my leggings whilst I was wearing them (not something I would advise). I used some white 'all purpose spray paint' purchased from 'EghamEssentials' which is my local anything-you-could-ever-want shop. However this was a very bad idea as, being a student, my leggings were purchased from primark and therefore not of the best quality, so when I sprayed my legs the paint also went onto my skin, underneath the leggings. Had this not been extra durable all purpose paint (most often used to paint walls and fences) I could have washed it off easily - but indeed it was, so I spent the next two weeks with bones painted on my legs that no maneuver of my nail scrubber/ loofah could remove.And so I have learned my lesson...

So as you will see below, I was invited to quite a few halloween parties this year (not to blow my own trumpet - there's always a party somewhere on campus) so I got the opportunity to dress up 3 times!

The second idea was Pocahontas/ native American (unfortunately I couldn't find a flattering photo), I'm not really sure how it was meant to be scary... maybe I was some kind of magicman/woman - who knows!
This was pretty easy to do, some bright blue Barry M eyeshadow and loads of liquid eyeliner - the rest is thanks to my facepaint collection (did I mention my love of facepaint?). I braided my hair in several loose plaits and found some feathers somewhere along my travels and entwined them in my hair. I also have a substantial collection of feather earrings so I took the opportunity to wear these also. I tried to find a full-length photo, but I'm either wearing coats or holding copious amounts of alcohol, so unfortunately this beauty was the only survivor.....

And to cap the weekend off I decided to go as the standard zombie cheerleader. But by this time Halloween was over - however the person throwing the party didn't seem to mind this and kept the theme anyway - so when we went clubbing post-party I was genuinely the ONLY zombie in the joint. Of course when you are fully aware of something, people all around you feel like you need to be informed of the fact over and over again, and that night was no exception.

Following on from the zombie post, the year before I went as a different kind of zombie:
This one was great fun to do - I got some fake blood from Tesco's (and black lipstick surprisingly) and spattered it all over myself and my dad's old shirt which I'd ripped the arms off. I also went to my local fancy dress shop and got some cat eye contact lenses. These were so cool, once I finally got them in that is. Although if you're driving I'd recommend you remove them as your peripheral vision is slightly decreased when they're in. As a non-glasses wearer I found it so difficult to take them out.
 To 'punkify' my Dad's shirt I ripped the back (from about a quarter of the way down), cut holes either side of it, and laced up the back - this works really well for any kind of top (given it's made out of a sturdy enough material for the holes not to snag) to add the extra vamp. Bonus feature: if you've a) been a strong-willed angel and lost some weight or b)accidentally bought something too big and can't be bothered to take it back, just cut a triangle out of the back instead of a slit (1point at the top, 2 at the bottom) and voila instant alteration without all the sewing know-how and patience.

On throwing a Tim Burton themed party I dressed as the girl from Tron (I forget her name).

For this one we went in all black, straightened hair, wore a lot of eye liner and got some blue cable tape to make our 'tron suits', thankfully my Dad is into DIY so I didn't have to source this one for myself, although you could probably pick some up from Halfords or a hardware shop - if in doubt, google it.

More embarrassing costumes include a flamingo (Alice In Wonderland), Lady Penelope and Wednesday (The Addams Family) which I won't upload for health and safety reasons.

Until next time....

How to throw a relaxed gathering without the awkward silence.

Unfortunately we all have those days when social situations are just a little bit awkward. On starting Uni I've found myself entertaining people I don't really know all that well, and potentially as much on the border of 'socially awkward' and 'almost-scarily kooky' as myself. So, on finally succeeding on such an endeavor I wrote down a recipe for a good gathering that Nigella Lawson would be proud of.

Firstly, preheat the oven. Put on some tunes to set the mood. As long as your friends aren't all musical snobs - everyone knows one - make sure you have some tunes going on in the background. It gives you something to listen to, other than your own breathing, during lulls in conversation and gives the room a little bit of atmosphere. Obviously this is going to require a playlist, so I have just recycled the one I used at the last house party I threw, which has the odd mix of Eminem, JT, Flo Rida, ACDC, Guns 'n' Roses, Pussycat Dolls, Ratatat - pick ones that most people will know, or will create the right vibe. Just, please, no more Carly Rae Jepson!
Even if there is a music devourer in the room, that's fine, they can just sit by the speakers and change the song half-way-through to their heart's content.


Next, get some drinks going (not necessarily alcoholic - but in my case usually!). You can begin to bond by passing drinks round etc, and due to my extensive collection of cocktail recipes I normally have some unusual drink doing the rounds.

Now I don't intend to get all Fanny Craddock on you, but games are a great way to get things going! 'Cheat' is a personal favourite of mine - and why? Well, it allows you a chance to accuse people you barely know of being stinking liars and to spew profanities at someone's face without them getting even mildly offended. If you have the family set of 'Jenga' or 'Cleudo' lying around, they also do the trick splendidly! If you fancy something slightly more adventurous then why not try 'Beer Pong' or 'Ring of Fire'.


And finally a legitimate addition to my already extensive culinary metaphor: 'picky-bits'. I like food, and like most people, if I am bored I eat. So put some snacks out. Crisps & dip, Haribo, Celebrations, whatever you fancy! That way those in size-too-small dresses aren't going to pass out on your floor or generally upset you with their 'full' flat tummies sat on the sofa.

In a relaxed gathering, a lot of people tend to play video games - that's fine - but whilst obliterating hundreds of Nazi zombies on the moon might be great fun for you and your fellow survivor, the people watching you might feel like they can't survive the rest of the night, never mind the apocalypse. The playstation doesn't necessarily bring all the sociable kids to mind, so make sure those who aren't so intent on conquering the virtual domain have something else to do.